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Gareth Pugh

locationParis, 27 September 2008

locationParis, 27 September 2008

PRE-SHOW, Gareth Pugh compared his move from London to Paris this season courtesy of his ANDAM win to "getting off the merry-go-round and climbing onto a rollercoaster" - but, if we were going to credit any of the new crop of London designers with the heart and guts to make it work, it would've been Pugh. And he didn't disappoint, this afternoon showing an Elizabethan-inspired spring/summer 2009 collection that had the fashion pack drawing completely justified comparisons to that other Brit-kid done good in Paris: Alexander McQueen.

In a space flooded un-Pugh-like with blinding light, today's show - while touching on many references we've seen from him before (think ruffs, armour, black and white, cartoonishly exaggerated silhouettes) - was clearly a gear-shifted business venture.

Gone was the Halloweenish styling, ghoulish make-up and gimp masks (plus, notably, menswear) of seasons past. In their place was a clean and airy offering inspired by the sumptuousness of Shakespearean ruffs; first look out was a literal rendering around the throat echoed at the hem of a winter white, black-backed day dress before the ruff took on a life of its own, swooping in an arc across the shoulders and later, spilling accordion-like from neck to knee.

You couldn't help but want to touch everything, from the white-painted safety pin bibs that fronted floaty chiffon dressing-gown dresses to the plasticized ruffle-front blouses, to the show pieces that reassured everyone that the Pugh essence is still here - segmented and cropped jackets that zipped up in an oversized "V" from the waist to obscure the face, and one standout coat, the angular proportions of which were mirrored in a little white plastic triangle attached to the models' eyelashes.

It's still only for the very fashionably brave - who could forget Kylie being slated for wearing that slashed leather dress? - but it's moving in the right direction every season. Pugh is a designer who feels the conflict between commerciality and creativity keenly, and, while this offering erred on the side of the former, it struck a considered and utterly wow-inducing balance.

"Paris is well-trod territory for British designers, who are prepared to push the boundaries and they seem to be well-received here," he told the Daily Telegraph's Hilary Alexander of the collection. "In London, you’re pushed to do something that sells. But you can do that in the showroom. The catwalk is the dream, the essence of what your designs and concepts are all about. In Paris, they take that more seriously."